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Oklahoma Sooners' one key factor to overcome gauntlet SEC schedule against six Top 15 college football teams
By Travis May,
1 day ago
The Oklahoma Sooners have a huge opportunity to make a statement in the 2024 college football season as they enter the SEC. They face six preseason Top 15 teams according to the NCAA Coaches Poll including Texas (4), Alabama (5), Ole Miss (6), Missouri (11), LSU (12), and Tennessee (15).
Coming off of a 10-3 season in Brent Venables' second year as head coach expectations for Oklahoma are high for 2024, but the schedule will obviously be quite the gauntlet. If Oklahoma is to overcome their wild SEC schedule, it's going to come down to one player: five star second year quarterback, Jackson Arnold. Does he have what it takes to carry the Sooners to the first ever 12-Team College Football Playoff this fall?
Oklahoma Sooners will go as far as Jackson Arnold can take them
Jackson Arnold certainly has some rather productive shoes to fill. Dillon Gabriel scored a total of 42 touchdowns last season for the Sooners, racking up more than 4000 total yards through the air and on the ground. But Arnold was apparently so good that Venables and the Sooners's staff were fine sending him packing to pass the baton to Jackson Arnold.
That might seem a bit bold, but when they have a five star talent with strong offensive weapons all around him it's simply investing in the future. Arnold was already looking in sync with his receivers as he tossed two deep bombs to Purdue transfer wide receiver Deion Burks and found Jayden Gibson quite often in the spring game.
As fall camp opens Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq, and Andrel Anthony (all who missed the spring game) are back in the fold ready to go. If that trio, plus the ever-dynamic Burks can continue to build chemistry with Arnold, the Sooners offense has an absolutely unbelievable ceiling.
Anderson and Farooq broke out last season with about 1500 total yards and a dozen scores. Anthony was on pace for about 900 yards himself prior to going down with injury. Arnold connected well with both Anderson and Farooq late last season in the bowl game against Arizona as he threw for 361 yards and a couple touchdowns in his first career start.
Arnold understands how special the weapons are around him and has been speaking glowingly of them this week at fall camp saying:
"It’s a receiver group that you got studs from the left all the way to my right… I’m going to need to rely on them this year to go out and make plays for me. At the same time they’re going to need to rely on me to go out and give them a good ball. So I think the world of that group right now."
The entire Sooners staff and players understand that it's not just the wide receivers playing well and looking good on their own. They know exactly what they have in Arnold, and plays like the one in Clint Brewster's post below outline why.
On a 3rd and 13 against BYU Jackson Arnold stood in the pocket, stepped up to avoid pressure, read the deep in-cutting route and put the ball low and away from pursuing defenders so only his receiver could catch it.
Arnold could have taken a shot at Drake Stoops on the underside of the smash concept on the left side of the field, but he was four yards short of the sticks. Instead, Arnold went for it all to extend the drive, confident in his strength and accuracy to get the job done. It's that kind of quick decision and throw that should leave every single SEC defense worried.
When you add his precision passing, pocket presence, rocket arm, and underrated mobility all together the Sooners look like they already have one of the best potential quarterbacks in the country with Jackson Arnold. Yes, it's a tough SEC schedule this fall, but if Arnold lives up to his beaming potential Sooners fans are about to witness something extremely special this season.
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